American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS)

ISSN (Print) 2313-4410, ISSN (Online) 2313-4402

© Global Society of Scientific Research and Researchers
http://asrjetsjournal.org/

Self-efficacy and Job Satisfaction as Correlates to

Turnover Intentions among Secondary School Teachers in
Mbarara District

Godwin Tindyebwa Muhangi*

Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O Box 1410 Mbarara Uganda
Email: gomuti@gmail.com

Abstract

Turnover intention was related with self-efficacy and job satisfaction among secondary school teachers.
Independent samples t-test, Chi-square, Pearson Correlation Analysis, Regression analysis; and Kruskal Wallis
test showed that: teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction depend on personal characteristics including sex, age,
religious affiliation, marital status, and teaching work experience. The study also revealed that self-efficacy and
job satisfaction are correlates to turnover intentions among secondary school teachers while school context self-
efficacy predict turnover intentions among teachers. Thus, self-efficacy and job satisfaction should be harnessed
to eliminate turnover as a challenge to the teaching profession.

Keywords: Self-efficacy; Job Satisfaction; Regression; Turnover.

1. Introduction

Teachers are an important pillar of schools; they impart knowledge to learners and set the situation for effective
learning. Teachers also fill a complex set of roles which vary from one society to another and from one
educational level to another. To effectively perform such roles, teachers must be prepared, motivated and
supported to attain positive attitudes towards their profession so as to feel more confident in performing their
tasks [1]. Despite this, teachers in Uganda face a multitude of challenges such as poor motivation, difficult
working and living conditions, lack of opportunities for personal development, low and inconsistent salaries
among others [2].

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* Corresponding author.

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Such challenges have compromised the quality of the standards of the teaching profession that many teachers
are considering quitting their profession (turnover intention). Turnover intention is used to imply the decision to
stay or leave an organization. Authors stated in [3] assessed turnover intentions by measuring intentions to
actually leave the present job, seek for a new job posting or stay but with intentions to change the job. They
poised that turnover intentions can be explained in terms of low self-efficacy, and lack of job satisfaction [4].
Turnover intentions are common among secondary school teachers in Uganda such that there are many schools
with vacant teaching positions in Mbarara District. This is attributed to the many teachers that have quit jobs
without new ones being attracted to fill their positions due to poor conditions of service. The said vacant posts
have been on a yearly increase and currently there are 60.5% of unfilled positions [5]. Organizations that lose
their valuable staff are said to have a “retention problems” [6]. Thus the secondary school teaching profession in
Uganda has a “retention problem”. An institution that loses staff also loses training time and investment, loses
knowledge and the remaining staff becomes insecure. These are costly to organisations because there costs of
replacing the departed staff [7]. This problem is likely to destabilize the institution and if it continues, it will
become increasingly hard for the education sector and more so the teaching profession in Mbarara District to
continue imparting knowledge to learners.

Despite urgency of the turnover intentions, few studies have addressed it globally and apparently none has been
done in the context of Mbarara District or even among secondary school teachers. This paper reports on the
relationship between self-efficacy, job satisfaction and turnover intentions among secondary school teachers in
Mbarara District. This may use to avert the situation of turnover intentions. Thus this study (i) examined levels
of self-efficacy among secondary school teachers with respect to age, gender, teaching experience, and
educational qualification, (ii) evaluated levels of job satisfaction among secondary school teachers with respect
to age, gender, teaching experience, and educational qualification, (iii) examined predictors of turnover intention
among secondary school teachers.

2. Related Literature

2.1 Teacher Self-Efficacy

Teacher self-efficacy is the perception teachers have that they can effectively perform the professional tasks
such as helping students to learn. With a high teacher self-efficacy, teachers tend to have a positive feeling about
teaching and they gain confidence about their teaching abilities. Self-efficacy determines both teachers’
behavior and efficacy expectations in the school where they work. This is because teachers are part of the school
environment where they contribute to the realization of the organizational goals [8].

Self-efficacy determines behaviors and behavioral changes of teachers [9] and also influences thoughts, feelings,
attitudes and effort dedicated to teaching. Teachers with a high sense of self-efficacy exert much effort at work
and are rational about teaching. Teachers who believe that they affect student learning are more likely to: try out
different ways of teaching, become organized in relation to teaching and student affairs and remain confident
and enthusiastic about teaching. Thus teacher self-efficacy influences teachers’ comprehension of their primary
roles, increases their planning and organizational skills, improves teacher-student interaction hence making

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teaching productive [10].

Researchers in [11; 12; 13] reported that teachers with low self-efficacy were less satisfied with their jobs and
would quit jobs soon. This shows that high efficacy is a significant predictor of greater engagement in the school
organization [14; 15; 16]. Teacher self-efficacy varies with experience. Experienced teachers tend to have a
higher efficacy compared to the novice teachers. Skillful teacher are likely to have the support of colleagues
coupled with the necessary teaching resources. Expert teachers have high self-efficacy, never surrender when
challenged, are flexible at work and perform better at work [17]. Novice teachers on the other hand have lower
self-efficacy for example in classroom management and student engagement [18]. This is because once new
teachers enter the teaching profession, they are given a full load of responsibilities similar to experienced
teachers; they are expected to be fully operational on the first day of teaching yet most of the time there is no
proper guidance and support from experienced teachers [19]. High chances are that the new teacher will make
mistakes which reduces self-efficacy.

New teachers walk into their classrooms each year with energy and high hopes, only to face unexpected
problems that cause them to give up on teaching or drastically lower their perceptions of their capabilities as
teachers [20]. Teachers are faced with high expectations of success which they are not able to handle, not
because they do not have the skills and knowledge, but because they lack the confidence required of them. All
the above show the importance of self-efficacy but not are directly related to turnover intentions. This is gap that
this study purposed to fill.

2.2 Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction is the degree to which a person reports satisfaction with intrinsic and extrinsic features of the job
[21]. In the context of teaching, job satisfaction among teachers involves offering a sense and feeling of
accomplishment, interest and challenge [22]. It is a collection of feelings that an individual holds toward his or
her job. This implies that a high level of job satisfaction brings positive attitudes toward the job and vice versa.
The more satisfied one is less is the likelihood of missing work and dissatisfied employees on the other hand are
more likely to miss work. This shows that job satisfaction is negatively related to turnover. Similarly; factors
such as expectations about alternative job opportunities, and length of tenure with the organization are important
constraints on the actual decision to leave one’s current job. Thus, organizations with more satisfied workers as
a whole are more productive.

Overall job satisfaction is comprised of more specific satisfaction in different domains hence people's overall
attitude toward their job or work causes specific satisfactions to be positively correlated. This indicates that
satisfaction is determined by something inherent in the person rather than by external environmental factors
[23]. Thus factors that contribute to job satisfaction may include pay, fringe benefits, job status, bonuses,
pension plans, the teaching job itself, promotion opportunities, the supervisor and relations with co-workers.
Other factors that affect the level of job satisfaction a person experiences include personality, values, the work
situation, and social influence.

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Factors that influence teachers’ job satisfaction have attracted the attention of educational researchers as a way
of improving teacher retention in the education sector [24]. This is because job dissatisfaction among teachers
affects students’ achievement and results into teachers having intentions of quitting teaching for other careers.
On the other hand teachers with high levels of job satisfaction will remain passionate about teaching. This is
because job satisfaction is associated with employee commitment, absenteeism, intentions to quit, and actual
turnover [25] and is a necessary ingredient as teachers decide about their future. Decisions to stay or leave the
teaching vocation and decision to stay or move on to another school will be hinged on the levels of job
satisfaction a teacher derives from his or her current job. This is because when the job is not meeting teachers’
needs turnover intention set in. In such a situation teachers are willing to forgo pension and other benefit in
search for stimulating jobs that meet their aspirations. Jobs require interaction with coworkers and bosses,
following organizational rules and policies, meeting performance standards, living with working conditions that
are often less than ideal. This means that an employee’s assessment of how satisfied or dissatisfied he or she is
with his/her job is a complex summation of a number of discrete job elements. Job satisfaction is related to
remaining in the teaching vocation while job dissatisfaction predicts intention to quite the reaching career.
Hence identifying factors that are related to job satisfaction of teachers is vital if teacher attrition is to be
curtailed.

Job satisfaction links teacher expectations from the job to the actual rewards that the job provides and results
from within teacher intrinsic factors, external extrinsic sources of satisfaction and demographic characteristic.
Intrinsic factors determine who becomes a teacher in future but the extrinsic conditions influence the job
satisfaction of teachers and the aspiration to remain zealous about the teaching calling. In view of the above
facts, the study in [26] reported that teachers employed in government schools have a higher level job
satisfaction compared to teachers in private schools; novice teachers had greater job satisfaction compared to
more experienced teachers while gender or educational qualification do not significantly affect level of job
satisfaction. From the preceding, we note that job satisfaction is positively related to organizational commitment
while low job satisfaction is associated to worker turnover. Job satisfaction has been shown to be a predictor of
intent to turnover as well as actual turnover. Therefore all employers, especially those in the social service
sector, are keen to find ways to increase job satisfaction which lower worker turnover, saving organizations time
and money while maintaining clients’ continuity of care.

2.3 Predictors of turnover intentions

Turnover intentions or intentions to quit can be defined as a conscious determination to seek for other available
job opportunities in other potential organization [27]. The employee takes a planned move to freely leave the
organization. Intention to quit is perceived as a behavioral intention that actually predict actual employee
turnover. An intention to quit is a rational decision an employee makes in relation to his/her current job. These
decisions determine employee continuity with the current job or leave the job to seek for better job opportunities
elsewhere. As stated by authors in [28], turnover intention is an inevitable aspect faced by all organizations and
schools have not been spared. It is for this reason schools cannot retain each and every staff member.
Organizational policies and poor compensation is retaliated to loss of talented teachers. The issue of salaries is
attached to performance based compensation plans, incentive plans associated to service, organizational support

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for development. Salaries and wages attract teachers to the school. In the same way, employee turnover is linked
to factors such as poor management style, lack of career development opportunities, lack of appreciation for
employee contribution to the organization, and inability to use core skills. In such situations employees seek out
for organisations that will offer skills development, career opportunities and better finance rewards. Employees
consider the institutional reputation and the available type of work [29].

Researchers cited in [30] carried out a cross-sectional survey with 203 teachers in Tamale Metropolis; Ghana
and noted that teachers had a high intention to quit the teaching profession. This intention to quit was even easy
to translate into actual turnover incase teachers got better alternative jobs apart from teaching but intentions to
quit were negatively associated to both motivation and job satisfaction. Related to the above, a survey of 127
secondary school teachers in Dodoma- Tanzania noted low affective and normative commitment, moderate
continuance commitment and high intention to leave. Commitment predicted 33.8 percent of the variance in
teacher intention to leave. Teachers who don’t have degree level education were more likely to leave than
teachers with degrees. Teachers with diploma and certificate level training were still young and could find
employment in other sectors. Intentions to quit teaching were high among the younger teachers who are less
than 35 years. These younger teachers are still viable in the job market, have little commitment to teach and no
associated benefits linked to long job tenure to lose such as pension [31].

Job satisfaction was negatively correlated with intentions to leave among teachers. Intrinsic and extrinsic
satisfaction explained 28.5 percent of the variance in turnover intentions among secondary school teachers.
Intrinsic job satisfaction was a significant predictor of turnover intentions among teachers. Intentions to leave
varied with respect to gender and education level. Teachers who are non-degree holders had higher intentions to
leave contrast to teachers who are degree-holders. Better educated teachers were more committed and had better
job career track like managerial jobs compared to non-degree holders only had opportunities to further their
educational aspirations. Intention to leave decreased as teachers’ age. Older teachers are working towards
advancing in their teaching career and better long-term incentives such as pension while younger teachers
struggle to fit into the challenging teaching vocation [32].

2.4 Hypotheses

The study was guided by the following hypotheses:

1. There is a significant difference between self-efficacy and age, gender, teaching experience and
educational qualification of secondary school teacher.
2. There is a significant difference between job satisfaction and age, gender, teaching experience, and
educational qualification of secondary school teacher.
3. Teacher self- efficacy and job satisfaction predict turnover intentions among teachers.

3. Methodology

Using a quantitative approach, and correlation design, data were collected using a self-administered
questionnaire with constructs on personal information, Self-efficacy, Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intentions.

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The scales adopted for the study included standardized instruments with known psychometric properties such as
classroom and school context teacher self-efficacy scale and so on. The reliability of the scale was .85 as
adapted from [33]. Validity and reliability of items in each construct in the questionnaire were established using
Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Cronbach alpha, respectively. Data were collected from teachers in all the 64
secondary schools in Mbarara District. Mbarara Municipality had 26 schools including six government-aided
schools and 20 privately owned schools that are registered by the Ministry of Education and Sports. Kashari had
19 secondary schools (six government-aided schools and 13 private and registered schools), and Rwampara had
19 secondary schools (seven government-aided schools and 12 private and registered schools). All the 626
teachers working in the said secondary schools composed the study population. Analysis involved use of
frequency counts and means at descriptive level. At inferential level, independent samples t-test, chi-square and
Kruskal Wallis test, Pearson’s linear correlation and multiple linear regression were used to test the study
hypotheses.

4. Findings and Discussion

4.1 Self-efficacy

Hypothesis one stated that there is a significant difference between self-efficacy and personal attributes (that is
to say age, gender, teaching experience and educational qualification) of secondary school teacher. Independent
samples t test for variable with two levels that are normally distributed and Kruskal Wallis test for variables
with more than two levels that are not normally distributed examined the difference between teacher self-
efficacy and the demographic data. The results of the analyses are presented in Table 1. The results revealed that
male teachers had a stronger sense of school context teacher self-efficacy than females, t (624) = 2.78, p = .006.
Teachers who had applied for a different job that is not related to teaching in the same school were less involved
in school organizational efficacy activities such as participating in decision making and involvement in school
actions compared to teachers who were contented with the teaching profession, t (624) = -2.93, p = .003. In
addition teachers with a desire to move to a different school had a lower sense of school context teacher self-
efficacy, t (624) = -3.00, p = < .001. Teachers who were not dedicated to the teaching till retirement lacked a
strong sense of school organizational efficacy compared to teaches who were dedicated to the teaching vocation
till retirement , t (624) = -2.10, p = .036. Teachers who applied for another job in the past year had better sense
of organizational self-efficacy, t (624) = 2.25, p = .025. Teachers who had applied for another job in the school
where they are currently employed in the last year had a lower classroom teacher efficacy, t (624) = -5.31, p = <
.001. Probably the inferior professional competence associated with motivating students, teaching and
education students compelled these teachers apply for another job that doesn’t require teaching expertise in the
same school. Organizational efficacy was superior among teachers who were single (χ2 = 19.52, df = 4, p =
.001), born-again by religious affiliation (χ2 = 12.29, df = 4, p = .015), and having a teaching experience of 16-
20 years (χ2 = 12.81, df = 4, p = .012). Mature teachers who are over 60 years old had a better organizational
efficacy compared to younger teachers (χ2 = 10.15, df = 4, p = .038). Teachers sense of classroom efficacy was
related to the anticipate years of active teaching service (r = .15, p = < .001). This implies that teachers with
high-quality at teaching and educating of students were more likely to predict a more productive teaching career
that will last for a long time. Basing on these results, hypothesis one that self-efficacy differs with personal

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characteristics (age, gender, teaching experience and educational qualification) is upheld.

Table 1: Teacher Self-efficacy and Demographic Data

Mean Rank

M (SD) t χ2 p
Gender Males 4.22 (0.69) 2.78 .006
Females 4.06 (0.70)
Age 20-29 306.76 10.5 .038
30-39 306.46
40-49 313.09
50-59 347.62
60+ 460.62
Religious Affiliation Protestant 330.49 12.29 .015
Catholic 304.14
Moslem 224.76
Born-again 340.59
Others 335.71
Marital status Single 342.89 19.53 .001
Married 309.59
Cohabiting 226.25
Separated 229.33
Widow/widower 263.36
Work experience in years 1-5 320.20 12.81 .012
6-10 316.98
11-15 245.91
16-20 351.30
21+ 328.60
Different job within the same school Yes 4.07 (0.68) -2.94 .003
No 4.24 (0.71)
Applied for a job in the school last year Yes 4.01 (0.68) -5.31 < .001
No 4.30 (0.68)
Move to a different school Yes 4.07 (0.66) -3.00 .003
No 4.24 (0.73)
Applied for a job in the past year Yes 5.10 (0.70) 2.25 .025
No 4.97 (0.75)
Continue to teach till retirement Yes 4.09 (0.72) -2.10 .036
No 4.21 (0.68)

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4.2 Teachers Job Satisfaction

Hypothesis two stated that there is a significant difference between job satisfaction, age, gender, teaching
experience, and educational qualification of secondary school teachers. It was predicted that there is a
significant difference between job satisfaction and the named personal attributes. The t-test for independent
samples for variable with two levels that are normally distributed and Kruskal Wallis test for variables with
more than two levels that are not normally distributed examined the difference between job satisfaction and
personal attributes. The results of the analyses are presented in subsequent tables.

Table 2: Job Satisfaction and Gender

Gender M (SD) t p
Perceived intrinsic job characteristic Males 34.70 (7.32) 1.624 .105
Female 33.62 (8.46)
Total job satisfaction Males 71.36 (13.73) 1.806 .072
Female 69.22 (14.73)
Intrinsic job satisfaction Males 33.46 (6.89) 1.976 .049
Female 32.33 (6.99)
Extrinsic job satisfaction Males 37.91(7.57) 1.509 .132
Female 36.89 (8.56)
Job itself intrinsic satisfaction Males 19.44 (3.85) 2.386 .017
Female 18.64(4.18)
Working conditions extrinsic satisfaction Males 24.18 (4.94) 1.938 .053
Female 23.36 (5.17)
Employee relations satisfaction Males 27.76 (6.57) 0.939 .348
Female 27.21(7.37)
Overall job satisfaction Males 4.86 (1.35) 0.977 .329
Female 4.75(1.38)

There was a significant difference between gender and intrinsic satisfaction. Male teachers had a significantly
higher mean score on intrinsic job satisfaction (t (624) = 1.976, p = .049.) and job itself intrinsic satisfaction (t
(624) = 2.386, p = .017) than female teachers. The other job satisfaction scores did not yield statistically
significant results. Kruskal Wallis test was used to determine if there was any significant difference between
job satisfaction and teaching experience. The results are shown in the Table below.

Experienced teachers with years of classroom teaching experienced more job satisfaction compared to
inexperienced teachers. Experienced teachers reported better total job satisfaction (χ2 = 15.507, df = 4, p = .004),
intrinsic (χ2 = 13.234, df = 4, p = .010) and extrinsic job satisfaction (χ2 = 15.650, df = 4, p = .004). Skilled
teachers experienced more working conditions extrinsic satisfaction (χ2 = 16.908, df = 4, p = .002) and employee

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relations satisfaction (χ2 = 11.871, df = 4, p = .018) than younger teachers (see Table 4).

Table 3: Job Satisfaction and Teaching Experience

χ2 p
Mean Rank

Total job satisfaction 1-5 15.507 .004

309.23

6-10 291.69

11-15 308.92

16-20 347.53

21 and above
409.12

Intrinsic job satisfaction 1-5 308.92 13.234 .010

6-10 297.19

11-15 310.15

16-20 331.97

21 and above 409.50

Extrinsic job satisfaction 1-5 311.29 15.650 .004

6-10 287.45

11-15 308.63

16-20 364.49

21 and above 395.13

Working conditions extrinsic satisfaction 1-5 304.76 16.908 .002

6-10 295.61

11-15 305.50

16-20 367.59

21 and above 405.22

Employee relations satisfaction 1-5 312.72 11.871 .018

6-10 291.01

11-15 313.15

16-20 342.37

21 and above 394.14

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Table 4: Job Satisfaction and Marital Status

Mean Rank χ2 p

Total job satisfaction Single 307.08 11.626 .020.

Married 327.98

Cohabiting 253.79

Separated 212.23

Widow/Widower
330.09

Intrinsic job satisfaction Single 305.34 14.160 .007

Married 330.90

Cohabiting 244.59

Separated 213.67

Widow/Widower
337.27

Job itself intrinsic satisfaction Single 14.077 .007

309.08

Married 330.03

Cohabiting 249.35

Separated 201.30

Widow/Widower
286.55

Employee relations satisfaction Single 10.518 .033

307.81

Married 325.63

Cohabiting 243.60

Separated 263.33

Widow/Widower
383.18

Results in Table 4 showed that total job satisfaction (χ2 = 11.626, df = 4, p = .020), intrinsic job satisfaction (χ2 =
14.160, df = 4, p = .007), and employee relations satisfaction (χ2 = 10.518, df = 4, p = .033), of the teachers
who were widows or widowers was higher than the job satisfaction aspects of teacher with diverse marital
statuses. Married teachers score on job itself intrinsic satisfaction scale was better than that of teachers of other
marital statuses (χ2 = 14.077, df = 4, p = .007). Result of the analyses supported hypothesis two. Hence the

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hypothesis that there is a significant difference between job satisfaction, age, gender, teaching experience, and
educational qualification of secondary school teacher is accepted.

4.3 Predictors of Turnover Intentions

Hypothesis three stated that teacher self- efficacy and job satisfaction predict turnover intentions among
teachers. Linear regression analysis calculated the examined factors that predicted turnover intentions among
teachers. Turnover intentions was the criterion variable while teacher self-efficacy, job satisfaction and
commitment were the independent variable. Only subscale and total scale scores that were correlated with
turnover intentions were used in the regression analysis. Table 5 has the results of the regression analysis.

Table 5: Predictors of Turnover Intention among Teachers

Predictors R β t p

Constant
21.422 16.450 < .001

School context self-efficacy -.269**

-.156 -3.751 < .001

Perceived intrinsic job characteristic

-.192** -.077 -1.767 .078

Intrinsic job satisfaction -.262** .114 .268 .789

Extrinsic job satisfaction -.249** .218 .473 .637

Job itself Intrinsic satisfaction -.254** -.125 -.501 .617

Working conditions extrinsic satisfaction -.273** -.261 -.880 .379

Employee relations satisfaction -.206** -.182 -.447 .655

Organizational loyalty .104**

.163 4.060 < .001

Career-oriented commitment -.131** .034 .765 .445

Team-oriented commitment -.145** .016 .358 .720

Organizational commitment
-.224** -.163 -3.712 < .001

Note: r, Pearson correlation, ** p< .01, Adjusted R square = .145.

The results show that School context self-efficacy, organizational loyalty and organizational commitment have
significant contributions to turnover intentions among teachers. Only three variables were associated with
turnover intentions. The model accounted for only 14.5% of the variance in turnover intentions among teachers.

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The results of the analysis partly supported the hypothesis. Only three factors supported the hypothesis. The
hypothesis is accepted for only those three factors that predicted turnover intentions among teachers.

5. Discussion

5.1 Personal Characteristics and Teacher Self-efficacy

Results from Table 1 describe how self-efficacy varied with demographic characteristics of the teachers. There
were gender differences where male teachers had superior school context teacher self-efficacy. School context
self-efficacy was linked to decision making processes in the school, influence of school social aspect,
belongingness to the broader schools milieu, rising to the highest office in the school, and attainment of school
goals among others. Male teachers had better school context self-efficacy than female teachers. Male teachers
naturally are expected to be striving to attain higher offices in the school, influence decision making in the
school, display assertiveness in the school and easily make positive associations with colleagues and
administrators.

These findings contrast previous work reported in [34] that there is no association between teacher self-efficacy
and gender in Turkey. One possible explanation of this contradiction relates to the nature of society where data
was collected. Uganda is a collectivistic society where males are perceived as dominant in society. Turkey is
more of individualistic society where females are ascribe certain roles and tasks in society. Additionally Uganda
sample had a diversity of religious affiliations contrast to the Turkey sample that had exclusively Muslims. This
in part explains why Ugandan male teachers had a superior school context self-efficacy then their female
colleagues.

Teacher self-efficacy was associated with age and teaching experience. Organizational self-efficacy had a
better-quality for teachers who had 16-20 years teaching experience and aged over 60 years. Based on these
results it can be assumed that teachers with an advanced age and teaching experience have few new employment
opportunities. Besides such teachers are working hard to get to the peak of their career path. They are future-
oriented driven by forecasting a better retirement package, being proud when they see how many students they
have mentored and mentoring the novice teachers. In so doing the experienced teachers focus more on the
school aspects such as influencing school policies, and engaging themselves in school decision making
processes. This cultivates enhanced organizational self-efficacy among the experienced teachers. Experienced
teachers are confident in their teaching and other duties they perform in the school setting [35]. They make
better decision associated with the teaching profession [20] and ensure the realization of school goals [4].
Teacher with high organizational self-efficacy are good when it comes to planning and organization skills [10].
A high sense of teacher self-efficacy leads to increased engagement in the school organization aspects [14].

The results have the same opinion with the researcher in [18] who observed that experienced teachers had better
self-efficacy. Chan explained further that teacher improves with experience and progress within the teaching
career. This incremental progress in the teaching career from being a student teacher to a novice and later an
experienced teacher resulted into better teacher self-efficacy. The focus here is on the learning process involved

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in teaching profession where teachers gain teacher self-efficacy as a factor of time and experience.

Single teachers had good organizational efficacy than other teachers. Perhaps the dynamics of single people in
the home context that requires collaborative relationships with family members and making decision daily that
can be mirrored to the school environment. Single teachers are perceived to be better decision makers, effective
leaders and perform organizational responsibilities efficiently because they don’t have lots of obligations.
Teacher with better academic qualifications had better class and school context self-efficacy. Teaching a class
with many students affected teacher self-efficacy. Teaching many students resulted in a lower sense of self-
efficacy [36]. These previous findings were not confirmed in the current study. Plausibly the contextual factors
can explain these discrepancies in results. In Uganda high classes of students are common and this has been
complicated by the introduction of universal primary and secondary education. Contrast to Europe, where
classes have relatively smaller numbers students. This enables teachers to use more learner centered approaches
such as inductive methods [37].

There were no noted significant differences between teacher self-efficacy and other teacher demographic
variables namely teaching experience and academic qualifications. These results disagrees with prior findings
that showed that teachers with better academic credentials as having a higher sense of teacher self-efficacy [36].
The results concur with the conclusions that self-efficacy was not associated with teaching experience [34].
Teachers who were passionate about their career with no desire to seek for other employment opportunities had
better teacher self-efficacy (see Table 4). This commitment to the teaching profession is expected to result into
positive regard to the teaching calling, confidence in relation to teaching and organizational tasks. With time and
experience such teachers develop a high self-efficacy feeling.

5.2 Personal Characteristics and Teacher Job Satisfaction

Table 3 provides interesting results of how job satisfaction varies with gender. Generally only two job
satisfaction features including intrinsic job satisfaction and job itself intrinsic satisfaction varied with gender.
Male teachers had higher score on these aspects than female teachers. There were not statistically significant
results of the other job satisfaction scales and gender. The assumption is that males and female teaches gain
intrinsic job satisfaction from various sources. Job features such as task identity, teaching task significance,
teaching skill diversity, work values, autonomy and feedback many have a different meaning for male and
female teachers respectively. These characteristics influence the job satisfaction of teachers in the long-term.
This contradicts previous findings reported in [26] that job satisfaction did not differ with respect to gender
among teachers in India. These inconclusive results of gender and job satisfaction may point to gender
stereotypes when it comes to job satisfaction.

There were significant differences between teaching experience and job satisfaction. Table 6 shows that teachers
with over two decades of teaching experience higher levels of job satisfaction. Plausibly continuously
performing the same job with time makes teachers accept their current job status and work hard to get better
retirement packages in future. For some fortunate teachers who have move up to the apex of their career, job
satisfaction can be derived from such a personal achievement. The researchers in [26] found out that novice

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teachers had greater job satisfaction than experienced teachers. This finding is correlated to the observation by
authors of [20] who observed that new teachers have plenty of energy and high hopes at the start of their
teaching career. The first teachings years serve as an evaluation phase where teacher think of prospects in the
teaching profession or other jobs. The novice teachers develop job satisfaction from successfully navigating job
challenges, developing better teaching capabilities, and teaching confidence. However the present results
contradict this assertion portraying experienced teachers as having better job satisfaction.

Consistent with previous findings reported in [24; 26], job satisfaction was not significant related to teacher
academic credentials. Satisfaction with intrinsic and extrinsic job aspects is a personal feeling, belief and
behavior one has with respect to his/her current job. This findings point out one aspect that is job satisfaction is
not dependent on the level of education the teachers have attained. There are other factors that can result into job
satisfaction among teachers. Possibly extrinsic factors such as rewards attached to the job may be more critical
in motivating the teachers.

There were statistically significant differences between job satisfaction and teacher marital status. Married
teachers had higher scores on the job itself intrinsic satisfaction than other teachers. Teachers who were
widow/widowers had better total job satisfaction, intrinsic job satisfaction, and employee relations satisfaction
(see Table 7). This result confirms that there are many factors that can contribute to job satisfaction. In this
situation personal factors such as marital status contribute to perceived job satisfaction of the teachers [23].
Furthermore, overall job satisfaction of the teachers is a reflection of more specific satisfaction in diverse
domains. Demographic variables, work-related features, social factors and work values all combine together to
determine the job satisfaction of teachers [21].

Job satisfaction of teachers in Mbarara district was basically externally determined, with various dimension of
job satisfaction among teachers. There are various factors that in part explain the job satisfaction of the teachers.
These include job characteristics, aspects of the work situation, work values, demographic variables and social
cultural factors. These factors partially explain the variance in job satisfaction among teachers. These factors
interact and influence one another to contribute to teacher job satisfaction.

Teacher levels of job satisfaction in turn reflect the degree to which their expectations are met. Teachers expect
their teaching job to provide a multiplicity of attributes such as promotion opportunities, equitable salaries,
autonomy to perform their duties and organizational support and so forth. The teachers have preferential
principles and attachment to a number of jobs attributes. The number and range of preferred job-related
attributes vary with individual differences. Job satisfaction of the teachers depends on how the teaching job is
able to accord the teachers a chance to fulfill their expectations [22].

5.3 personal attributes and turnover intentions

Further analysis of teacher turnover intentions reveals that turnover intent varied with demographic variables.
Intentions to quit were high among teachers who are diploma holders’ contrast to teachers with other levels of
education. This finding has many explanations in the literature of teacher turnover intent. The author in [38]

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asserts that meager teacher earnings that are not equated to teacher academic credentials, increased work load
and other responsibilities, and lack of stature originally attached to the teaching profession has resulted into
teacher job dissatisfaction and turnover intent. Teachers are left with no option but to seek for better
opportunities elsewhere. These can be in the form of seeking teaching job overseas where the teaching
profession is better paying with superior working conditions. Furthermore, a number of teachers may decide to
leave the teaching profession entirely in favor of better pay occupations. This high turnover intent affects
teachers with lower credential such as certificate and diplomas.

Teachers who are qualified to certificate or diploma level are more likely to leave their teaching jobs than those
with degrees. Teachers with certificate or diploma level training are relatively young in age with a lot at their
disposal. These teachers can easily switch to other much loved careers, can decide to upgrade to better academic
qualifications, can easily find employment in other sectors, they are still feasible in the job market and have a
longer time to serve in their cherished career. Lower level qualified teachers have not committed themselves to
the teaching calling. More so these teachers don’t have any cumulative benefits such pension linked to
continuous job tenure [31]. Better educated teachers are more committed to their jobs because of the diverse
opportunities available to them during their job tenure. Such teachers have the opportunity to be appointed to
managerial position available in the school. Better educated teachers work with a purpose and a good focus.
They are motivated advance in their career and get better long-term rewards in future such as pension. In
essence when teacher attain better qualifications with time their turnover intent tend to diminish [32]. In
explaining the link between teacher education level and turnover intent, several reasons have been advanced.
Lack of opportunities for profession growth, harsh government policies and limited opportunities for promotion
disadvantage low-level teacher resulting into intentions to quit [39].

The young energetic teachers with little teaching experience had a high desire to quit teaching for other jobs
unrelated to classroom teaching. Intentions to quit was associated to the low pay attached to the teaching jobs
especially for teachers who are diploma holders, lack of job security and inadequate teaching resources in the
school setting [40]. The plight of secondary school teachers in Nigeria is comparable to what secondary school
teacher in Uganda are faced with during their active teaching years. Based on subject specialization authors in
[41] report that young science teachers possibly diploma holders have higher turnover intentions compared to
teachers of humanities and languages. The high turnover intentions among science teachers are related to the
high demand for science educators in society. Science teachers are in high demand with enormous job
opportunities in almost all sectors.

Intention to quit varied with job experience whereby teachers with 6-10 years of teaching experience had high
turnover intentions. This is because when experience increases, teachers settled in their profession and attain
better qualifications. These experienced educators are sought after by many schools and employing bodies.
These teachers can seek teaching opportunities in other schools; move on to other careers unrelated to teaching
or try to find other employment opportunities [32]. Attainment of better qualification and experience can also
signal the start of the turnover intent. Teachers with such qualities can seek for managerial jobs divers setting
such schools, ministries and private sector. All these are good for teachers who are working to advance in their
professional career. Turnover intent was common among Muslim teachers compared to teachers of other

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religious affiliations. This is because most of the respondents were Christians. Muslim teachers could have felt
alienated and discriminated against based on religious grounds. More so, there are far less Muslim-founded
secondary schools compared to other faith-based founded secondary schools in Mbarara district.

6. Conclusions

The findings of the study reveal that teachers of Mbarara district had a good sense of teacher self-efficacy. This
self-efficacy was derived from not only teacher functions in the classroom but also the school context. Teacher
self-efficacy differed with regard to personal characteristics such as gender, age, work experience and religious
affiliation among others. These findings provide evidence linked to the nature of teacher self-efficacy.

Teacher job satisfaction arose from diverse factors associated with the teaching profession. The teacher had
higher extrinsic job satisfaction scores contrast to intrinsic job satisfaction scores at one level on analysis.
Employee relations satisfaction was a source of job satisfaction on another level of analysis. The results
additionally confirmed that job satisfaction is determined by job related features such as extrinsic and intrinsic
factors and demographics including gender, teaching experience and marital status. The findings fit well in the
job satisfaction theories and literature.

There were various correlations among the various subscale score of teacher self-efficacy, job satisfaction and
turnover intentions score. The correlation showed the associations among the variables. These findings confirm
previous study results regarding the relationships among these variables. The likelihood of turnover intent
increased with low school contest self-efficacy and organizational loyalty. These factors were significant
predictors of turnover intentions among teachers accounting for 14.5% variance in turnover intent. School
contest self-efficacy, organizational loyalty, and organizational commitment were correlated with intentions to
quit score of the teachers. Turnover intentions were high among diploma holding teachers, teachers with 6-10
years of teaching experience and Muslim secondary school teachers.

7. Recommendations

Study results revealed a correlation between self-efficacy, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. The study
therefore recommends that educational administrators should ensure that school setting fosters teacher self-
efficacy and job satisfaction. This can be achieved by increasing teaching resources, engage teachers in key
decision making process in the school, provide mentoring to the young teachers, provide opportunities for
teachers to attain further education, and ensure proper job related-supervision. Other actions that can improve
teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction so as to minimize turnover intentions include improving the teaching
environment, autonomy to use various teaching methods in the class, ensure proper induction of all new
teachers, listen to teachers’ opinions, and improve employee relations. Improving teacher self-efficacy and job
satisfaction will in the long-term result into better teacher behavior, school achievement, reduce burnout,
increase school engagement, leads to positive job-related attitudes, and less intention to quit and so forth.

The most common predictors of turnover intentions include low job satisfaction, poor salaries attached to some
jobs and lack of a proper career path. School management can design strategies to address some of these

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employee concerns. For example provide a clear career path for employees and make the requirements for
advancing from one level to another known to all employees. This will reduce turnover intentions among
teachers.

Turnover intentions varied with demographic data. Turnover is common among some categories of teachers for
example younger teachers tend to have higher turnover intent than older teachers. Turnover intentions decrease
as employees’ age increases. Attainment of higher qualification among teachers can instigate the decision to
quit. With all these known factors associated to turnover, schools can plan to accommodate the needs of their
staff. Strategies such as provision of opportunities for professional growth and development, increased job
responsibility for teachers who attain better qualification and performance-based incentives can reduce attrition
among teachers. Targeted programs such as refresher courses, day care facilities for parents, flexible working
hours and comparable remuneration can all lead to a decrease in turnover intention among teachers.

8. Limitations to the study

The study sample and geographical scope was limiting and it would be wanting if results from this study were to
be generalized to entire population of teachers. In addition, there were no provisions to minimize researcher bias
arising from the fact that the researcher was the only person collecting and analyzing data.

It is also likely that respondents tended to report past events in a manner that was different from the situation on
ground by the time of data collection. This is called recall bias which affects internal validity of a study and it is
a limitation common with all self-reported data as it was the case in this study.

The method of data collection was also a limitation of the study. It thus suggested that there is need for
longitudinal approaches in the investigation of the most significant factors that affect teachers’ self-efficacy, job
satisfaction and job satisfaction. I such a case, it would help to explore factors that de-motivate or motivate
teachers towards self-efficacy and reduce turnover intentions.

Conducting longitudinal studies at different intervals of years with a purpose of investigating consistency in
different outcomes would be far more rewarding. Such results provide would clarify on the concept of teachers’
turnover intentions and self-efficacy.

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